Office of the Historian

852.00/5639: Telegram

The Ambassador in Italy (Phillips) to the Secretary of State

Rome, June 4, 1937—noon.
[Received June 4—8:45 a.m.]

261. My 259, June 3, 7 p.m. The British Ambassador has this morning sent to Count Ciano an aide-mémoire containing the guarantees which have been proposed by the Non-intervention Committee. Similar communications have also been handed to the German and French Governments but apparently not to the Soviet Government. The so-called guarantees are 3 in number:

(1)
assurances that foreign warships will be respected;
(2)
in order to avoid accidental attacks the two Spanish parties shall designate safety zones in ports to be agreed upon for purposes of refueling, et cetera;
(3)
the two parties are to be informed that failure to implement these assurances as well as any interference with ships on patrol duty “will in future form the subject of consultation between all four countries on the situation thus created”.

Phillips